How I Got Approved For Free Amazon Products

Amazon Vine is a wonderful program to help sellers and buyers. I’ve been a member of this program for several years and written more than 600 reviews. It took some determination on my part to get approved as a trusted Amazon reviewer.

Recently I shared with a friend who asked how she could get free products from Amazon. Applying my method, she was approved too!

Are you interested? First, you need to know that this requires work and its not available to all who ask. The program is constantly changing so my methods may work today, but not a month from now. All I can say is test it for yourself, and keep testing your eligibility.

You should know up front, I’m a regular and consistent shopper on Amazon. My established shopping history gave me credibility as a fan of the store. For years I’ve been buying ebooks (some are less than a dollar) and I’ve collected many wonderful books for my library.

When I heard about the Amazon Vine program from another mom, I started looking to see if I was eligible. Many times I’d inquire and get a message to discourage me.

But I remained persistent and once a week (sometimes twice a week) I’d search these two words: Amazon Vine. Typing the words into my Amazon search bar gave me a not eligible response.

Until one day I hit the golden ticket and they said YES!

Looking back I see a few things I’ve done to earn my reputation as a trusted reviewer:

I wrote lots of reviews for Amazon products I purchased

I was honest (and still am) in all my reviews. I am writing these with the next buyer in mind, thinking what might help them learn about my personal product experience.

Some of my reviews were low, some were high ratings, and many in between. It was super important to demonstrate integrity in my reviews and I would never compromise.

Even if other Vine reviewers were giving great product comments, I always told my experience truthfully.

After writing 10 more reviews for Amazon this week, my review ranking DROPPED instead of going up! So I discovered something…

Amazon TOP 10 REVIEWER RANKS is based on the “helpful votes” not the actual number of reviews written. Ratios are high on top reviewers… i’ts super fun to see them rise.

There are some discomforts to this program as well. As you just saw, my Amazon reviewer ranking DROPPED.

Sometimes the boxes are enormous and they pile up in my trash. Twice I had to hire a hauling company to get rid of them.

Sometimes the products are not wonderful and as a member of the program I am not allowed to give them away, sell them at yard sales or donate to charity. This makes sense because if a product is recalled after reviews, then it can be a hazard for the next owner. So a few times I’ve had to”junk” something and have it hauled away.

What a fluffy pink coat… my dog likes it!

Amazon provides me with a tax form stating how much the products are valued, and I am required to report this to the IRS. It’s a mystery to me how they set the tax value. Sometimes the tax value is higher than the sales price, so I decide not review those products.

You probably want to know what free products I have received? In the Amazon Vine program I have a product que and I can choose from preselected items. I’m not allowed to randomly pick something and ask for it free. The sellers set the products into the que and limit the number available.

Want to see this in action?

Visit my Amazon profile, read a review and if you like the review click the “helpful” button. It’s that easy!

“A reviewer’s ranking is determined by the number of helpful votes from other customers. Customers tend to value substantive, informative, detailed and objective reviews, regardless of whether the review is positive, negative, or neutral.”